To make purchases using the Internet, buyers are required to disclose the buyer's name, address, shipping address, and credit card number to the merchant. Many would-be purchasers are uncomfortable with providing such information to the Web merchant, because they are concerned that their credit card numbers could be misused and that their privacy could be compromised. As a result, such potential buyers choose not to use the Internet to make purchases or restrict their purchases to particular merchants whom they trust. The growth of e-commerce is restricted by these privacy and security concerns.
Likewise, businesses that make Internet purchases from other businesses using the Internet are required by present Internet order processing systems to reveal identifying and payment information to the selling business that may result in the compromise of information regarding the transaction that the buyer would prefer to remain private.